Haunted hotel guide · Salt Lake City, Utah
The Peery Hotel, Salt Lake City: Moaning Molly and the Haunted Elevator
A 1910 brick hotel on Salt Lake City’s West Broadway where a hotel spokesman told local TV that a ghost called Moaning Molly lives in the elevator.
The Peery has been taking guests on the corner of West Temple and 300 South for more than a century. It was built in 1910 with Peery family money, in a fast-growing part of downtown near the railroad depots, and it has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Today it trades as The Peery Salt Lake City Downtown, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, a boutique hotel of about 73 rooms.
It is also the Salt Lake City hotel that is most willing to talk about its ghost. In 2012 a hotel spokesman told FOX 13 that a ghost called Moaning Molly lives in the elevator, and that many guests have had experiences riding it. KSL has since reported the same handful of stories: a woman moaning in the halls and elevator, children running and a man in the doorways. Other stories tell of a woman’s perfume in empty halls, children running on the guest floors and a man who stands in doorways and disappears. With the Bigelow in Ogden now apartments, the Peery is the best historic haunted stay on our list of haunted hotels in Utah.
The Peery at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 110 W 300 S (Broadway), Salt Lake City, UT 84101
- Opened Built 1910 (formal opening September 1911); on the National Register since 1978; now a Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel
- Most haunted spots The elevator, the guest-floor hallways and doorways
- Best-known ghosts Moaning Molly in the elevator, running children, a man who vanishes in doorways
- Booking the haunted room There is no single haunted room. The elevator is the hot spot, and any room gives you access to it.
- Good to know About 73 rooms over three floors. No pool or on-site free parking; there is a paid public lot next door.
The ghosts of The Peery Hotel
Moaning Molly in the elevator
The Peery’s best-known ghost has a name. In October 2012, hotel spokesman Kristofer Watson told FOX 13: “A Moaning Molly, she lives in our elevator,” adding that many guests have had experiences riding the hotel’s haunted elevator.
Guests describe the sound of a woman moaning in the elevator and in the hallways, and one elevator is said to move between floors when nobody has pressed a button. Nobody knows who Molly was, and no record has been found of a woman dying in the hotel. She is a story the hotel itself is happy to tell.
Perfume in the hallways
Some guests say they have caught the scent of a woman’s perfume in empty corridors, strong for a moment and then gone. People who like to connect the stories say it belongs to Molly.
It is a common report in old hotels, and the Peery’s narrow 1910 hallways hold scents well, but it is part of the hotel’s ghost lore.
Children running on the guest floors
Guests have reported the sound of children running and playing in the hallway late at night, then opening the door to find the hall empty.
There is no story about who the children might be. In a hotel that has taken guests for more than a century, many families have passed through.
The man in the doorway
The last of the Peery’s stories is the most unsettling: a man seen standing in a doorway, who then disappears. The story appears in KSL’s 2019 history of the hotel and in accounts collected by Outoria, and neither says which floor or which room.
Like the other reports, it comes from guests rather than any historical record.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The elevator: Molly’s home, according to the hotel’s own spokesman. Ride it late in the evening when the hotel is quiet.
- The guest-floor hallways: Where guests hear moaning, smell perfume and hear children running. Any room on the upper floors puts you in the middle of it.
- The suites: The Junior Suite (340 square feet) and Bedroom Suite (400 square feet) have half-canopy king beds and give you more room to settle in for the night.
History of The Peery Hotel
The story of the Peery begins with a plan that stalled. In 1907, David Henry Peery planned a smaller hotel on the site, but construction stopped before his death later that year. New plans were drawn in 1909, and the hotel was built and opened in 1910 under the direction of his mother, Elizabeth Peery, using Peery Estate funds, according to Wikipedia.
The architects were Charles B. Onderdonk and Irving Goodfellow, and KSL puts the cost at $120,000 and the formal opening at September 15, 1911, with an open house that drew hundreds of visitors. A plaque says the site was once home to Utah’s first permanent Jewish house of worship, built in 1883. They designed a three-story brick building in the Prairie style with Classical Revival touches. It went up during a boom in Salt Lake City, close to the new commercial center around Exchange Place and to the Denver and Rio Grande and Union Pacific depots, which were built at about the same time. Hotels like the Peery served the travelers those railroads brought.
In 1925 Harry K. Miles leased the hotel. By the 1940s it advertised itself as the only air-conditioned hotel in Salt Lake City, and in 1947 Miles bought it and renamed it the Miles Hotel. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 1978, and the Peery name was back by the 1980s. A 1999 renovation turned it into a luxury boutique hotel, and in 2019 the Cleveland historic real estate group GBX invested in the building and donated a preservation easement to Preservation Utah to protect its historic character.
Today the Peery is a boutique hotel of about 73 rooms with a 1920s theme and vintage-style furniture. Guests mention some quirky layouts, such as sinks in the bedroom and small bathrooms, which come with a building of this age. It now operates as part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection. Ownership, branding and dining in the building have changed over the years, so check the latest details when you book.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ride the elevator late at night and ask the front desk about Molly; the hotel has talked about her on local TV.
- Ask for an upper-floor room so you are close to the hallways where most stories come from.
- Expect a 1910 building: some rooms are small and have unusual layouts.
- Parking is in a paid public lot next door; there is no free parking on site.
- Walk to the old Rio Grande Depot a few blocks west, where FOX 13 reported stories of spirits waiting for a train.
- Silver Fork Lodge in Big Cottonwood Canyon is about 30 minutes away for a second, quieter haunted stay.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Holiday Inn Express, Salt Lake City: the former Shilo Inn, a short walk away
- Silver Fork Lodge, Brighton: a canyon lodge 30 minutes away
- The Bigelow, Ogden: Utah’s most famous haunted hotel, now apartments
- Haunted places in Salt Lake City: the rest of the city’s ghost stories
- Haunted hotels in Utah
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Peery Hotel haunted?
The hotel says so. In 2012 a spokesman told FOX 13 that a ghost called Moaning Molly lives in the elevator and that many guests have had experiences riding it. Guests also report perfume, running children and a man who vanishes in doorways.
Who is Moaning Molly?
Nobody knows. She is the name the hotel gives to the ghost said to ride its elevator, and there is no record of a real woman behind the story.
When was the Peery Hotel built?
It was built in 1910, designed by Charles B. Onderdonk and Irving Goodfellow with Peery family money, and KSL dates its formal opening to September 1911. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.
Was the Peery Hotel ever called something else?
Yes. Harry K. Miles, who leased the hotel from 1925, bought it in 1947 and renamed it the Miles Hotel. It later returned to the Peery name.
What is the most haunted hotel in Salt Lake City?
The Peery is the city’s best-known haunted hotel still taking guests. The Holiday Inn Express on West Temple also has a dark story, and the Bigelow in Ogden is now apartments.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Wikipedia: Peery Hotel
- KSL: The history of Salt Lake City's 109-year-old Peery Hotel (2019)
- FOX 13: Utah's most rumored haunted hot spots (2012)
- Fodor's: The Peery Salt Lake City Downtown, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
- Outoria: The Peery Hotel
- Booking.com: The Peery Hotel
Get new haunted hotel guides by email
New guides, haunted hotel picks and ghost hunt dates near you. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Booking links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.